Methods systems, and computer program products for aggregating medical information

ABSTRACT

A method of aggregating medical information can include receiving, at a remote aggregation system, individual syndromes collected by mobile personal medical devices associated with respective bodies as the mobile personal medical devices move within an environment, aggregating the individual syndromes at the remote aggregation system, and determining whether an environmental syndrome exists for at least some of the individual syndromes. Related systems and computer program products are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/550,228 and Ser. No. 11/582,237, each filed concurrently with thepresent application, the entireties of which are incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of electronics ingeneral, and more particularly, to methods devices and computer programproducts for mobile personal medical devices.

BACKGROUND

One of the problems faced by emergency medical providers, such asEmergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), is that a person in distress maynot be able to communicate during an emergency. For example, a personmay be experiencing a diabetic crisis, where the person is unable toanswer questions asked by the EMTs.

Moreover, given the ease with which people are able to move throughoutsociety and the world, it can be difficult to determine when an outbreakof a particular medical syndrome, such as Severe Acute RespiratorySyndrome (SARS) is underway. For example, a person may have contractedSARS before boarding an airplane to travel to another city, region orcountry. A SARS outbreak may, therefore, cross regional or internationalboundaries quite easily given the ease of travel. This mobility can makediscovery of the syndrome difficult and, moreover, may place emergencymedical providers in a somewhat reactive position so that the nature ofthe crisis is only understood after it is well underway.

In addition, legal restrictions on the handling of private medicalinformation, such as the Health Insurance Portability And AccountabilityAct Of 1996 (HIPPA), require medical providers, such as doctors, EMTs,etc., to handle a person's private medical information as set out underthe law. These legal restrictions may hinder the dissemination ofcritical medical information during a crisis which may place emergencymedical providers at a further disadvantage during an outbreak.

SUMMARY

Embodiments according to the invention can provide methods, systems, andcomputer program products for aggregating medical information. Pursuantto these embodiments, a method of aggregating medical information caninclude receiving, at a remote aggregation system, individual syndromescollected by mobile personal medical devices associated with respectivebodies as the mobile personal medical devices move within anenvironment, aggregating the individual syndromes at the remoteaggregation system, and determining whether an environmental syndromeexists for at least some of the individual syndromes.

In some embodiments according to the invention, a system for aggregatingmedical information includes a processor circuit that is configured toreceive individual syndromes collected by mobile personal medicaldevices associated with respective bodies as the mobile personal medicaldevices move within an environment and that is configured to aggregatethe individual syndromes at the remote aggregation system and that isconfigured to determine whether an environmental syndrome exists for atleast some of the individual syndromes.

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according toembodiments of the invention will be or become apparent to one withskill in the art upon review of the following drawings and detaileddescription. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods,and/or computer program products be included within this description, bewithin the scope of the present invention, and be protected by theaccompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a mobile personal medical deviceconfigured for in vivo implantation or coupling to in vivo implantedsensors according to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates mobile personal medicaldevices according to some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of data maintained by mobilepersonal medical devices and persistent storage devices according tosome embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 4-6 are flowcharts that illustrate operations of mobile personalmedical devices in some embodiments according to the invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of an in vivo mobile personalmedical device configured to communication with a remote electronicdevice in some embodiments according to the invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of a remote electronic deviceincluded in airline seat and configured for communication with an invivo mobile personal medical device in some embodiments according to theinvention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of an in vivo mobile personalmedical device configured for communication with a recognized medicaldevice operated by an authorized emergency medical provider in someembodiments according to the invention.

FIGS. 10-11 are flowcharts that illustrate operations of mobile personalmedical devices in communication with remote electronic devicesincluding recognized medical devices in some embodiments according tothe invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic representation of a remote system configured foroperation by a medical provider for communication with mobile personalmedical devices in some embodiments according to the invention.

FIGS. 13-15 are flowcharts that illustrate operations of remote systemsin conjunction with mobile personal medical devices in some embodimentsaccording to the invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic representation of an aggregation system incommunication with a plurality of mobile personal medical devices insome embodiments according to the invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart that illustrates operations of aggregationsystems in communication with mobile personal medical devices in someembodiments according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS ACCORDING TO THE INVENTION

The present invention now is described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying figures, in which embodiments of theinvention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in manyalternate forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout the description of the figures.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items.

It will be understood that, when an element is referred to as being“coupled” to another element, it can be directly coupled to the otherelement or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when anelement is referred to as being “directly coupled” to another element,there are no intervening elements present.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense expresslyso defined herein.

The present invention is described below with reference to diagrams(such as schematic illustrations) and/or operational illustrations ofmethods, devices, and computer program products according to embodimentsof the invention. It is to be understood that the functions/acts notedin the figures may occur out of the order noted in the operationalillustrations. For example, two elements shown in succession may in factbe executed substantially concurrently or the elements may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/actsinvolved.

The present invention may be embodied in hardware and/or in software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.). Furthermore,the present invention may take the form of a computer program product ona computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the mediumfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. In thecontext of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readable mediummay be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, ortransport the program for use by or in connection with the instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example butnot limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagationmedium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of thecomputer-readable medium would include the following: an electricalconnection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM).

Computer program code or “code” for carrying out operations according tothe present invention may be written in an object oriented programminglanguage such as JAVA®, Smalltalk or C++, JavaScript, Visual Basic,TSQL, Perl, or in various other programming languages. Softwareembodiments of the present invention do not depend on implementationwith a particular programming language. Portions of the code may executeentirely on one or more systems utilized by an intermediary server.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the computer programcode may be provided to a processor circuit of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus as instructions to produce a machine, such that theinstructions, which execute via the processor circuit of the computer orother programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions specified in the illustrations.

The computer code may be stored in a computer-readable memory that candirect a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus tofunction in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored inthe computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture includinginstruction means which implement the function specified in theillustrations.

As described herein below in greater detail, mobile personal medicaldevices can be configured for chronic in vivo implantation and canoperate to receive and record parameters associated with functions ofthe body in which the device is implanted. For example, the mobilepersonal medical device can receive measurements regarding bloodpressure, blood glucose level, blood oxygen, temperature, etc.

The measured parameters can be recorded and incorporated into previousmeasurements made over time to provide an ongoing record of thefunctions monitored by the mobile personal medical device. In someembodiments according to the invention, the mobile personal medicaldevice can compare the measured parameters with known conditions orsyndromes stored therein. If the measured parameters correlate to asyndrome stored in the mobile personal medical device, the device cantransmit an alert signal or description of the syndrome as a warning.

In still other embodiments according to the invention, the mobilepersonal medical device can be configured to compare the measuredparameters to known standards such as historical measurements of theindividual body, regional, national, or international standards.Furthermore, the standards may be provided on the basis of an ethnic,racial, or cultural background. In operation, the mobile personalmedical device can compare the measured parameters to the standardsstored within the device and transmit an alert signal if any of themeasured parameters (or any combination of the measured parameters)exceeds a threshold established for any of the standards.

Furthermore, the mobile personal medical device can transmit the alertafter the threshold for the relevant parameter has been exceeded by apredetermined amount for a predetermined time. For example, the mobilepersonal medical device may not transmit the alert signal if themeasured parameter exceeds the threshold only momentarily. In contrast,the mobile personal medical device may transmit the alert signal whenthe measured parameter exceeds the threshold for that parameter byeither a relatively large amount or for a relatively long time.

In still other embodiments according to the invention, the mobilepersonal medical device can store geographic location information (suchas that provided by a GPS circuit) to record the movements of the bodyin which the mobile personal medical device is implanted. Furthermore,the device may record proximity information regarding similar mobilepersonal medical devices that are detected. In particular, the devicemay record the detection of another nearby mobile personal medicaldevice implanted in (or carried by) another person. This peerinformation may be useful in tracking communicable diseases.

In still further embodiments according to the invention, the mobilepersonal medical device is configured to communicate with remotesystems, such as systems operated by authorized Emergency MedicalTechnicians (EMTs) or systems operated by medical providers, such asphysicians. In such embodiments, the mobile personal medical device mayupload and/or download information to/from the remote system.Accordingly, the mobile personal medical device may provide the recordof measured parameters to the remote system for further analysis.Likewise, the remote system may download updated standards, and otherdata to the device for later operation. Furthermore, the remote systemand the device may utilize a shared key to protect the privacy of themedical data stored therein. Accordingly, when the remote systemrequests access to information stored in the mobile personal medicaldevice, the shared key may be used to authorize such access.

In still further embodiments according to the invention, the mobilepersonal medical device may be included as part of a wide scaleaggregation system to monitor the medical situation for a local,regional, and/or national population. For example, the devices may bedetectable by public sensors which can then relay informationtransmitted by the mobile personal medical devices to the aggregationsystem. The aggregation system can, in-turn, analyze the data forwardedby the mobile personal medical devices to determine whether similarsyndromes or parameters are present in significant numbers. Theaggregation system can then act on the determined information to helpalleviate the potential outbreak by, for example, transmitting alertmessages to the mobile personal medical devices integrated into thesystem.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a body 105 having a mobilepersonal medical device 100 implanted therein. The mobile personalmedical device 100 can be configured for chronic in vivo implantation.Accordingly, the mobile personal medical device 100 can be sizedsufficiently for implantation in any one of a number of bodily locationssuch as in one or more appendages. It will be understood that the mobilepersonal medical device will be implanted in regions that enableconvenient measurement of the parameters described herein.

It will further be understood that the mobile personal medical device100 can be configured so as to reduce a phenomenon referred to asbio-fouling which if unaddressed can lead to degradation and ultimatefailure of an implanted device. Furthermore, the mobile personal medicaldevice 100 should be fabricated using an enclosure which isbio-compatible with the surrounding environment to reduce bio-fouling aswell as any potential rejection by the body. For example, the mobilepersonal medical device may be encapsulated in glass or otherbio-compatible material while still allowing sensors to measureparameters and to communication with the mobile personal medical device.In some embodiments according to the invention, the mobile personalmedical device is configured for chronic implantation such that thedevice 100 can be implanted for periods of at least six months withoutintervention.

An external sensor package for the device 100 may be about 2 mm×10 mm inthe form of a rounded cylinder. This configuration may ease insertioninto the body 105 when used in conjunction with a device similar to abiopsy needle. The standardization of package size and geometry mayenable a diverse range of coatings such as Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) orglasses of various compositions and plastics. The inner portion of thepackage can be used to provide a hermetic seal isolating the device 100from the effects of moisture and attack by the body.

As further shown in FIG. 1, a mobile personal medical device 110 can beadapted for external mounting to the body 105 whereas sensors 115 arelocated in vivo. Accordingly, the in vivo sensors 115 are incommunication with the mobile personal medical device 110 that isoutside the body 105. Although many of the embodiments described hereindescribe the mobile personal medical device 100 as being implanted invivo, embodiments can also be provided where the mobile personal medicaldevice 100 is outside the body 105 while the sensors 115 are locatedeither in vivo or have access to the body so that the parametersdescribed herein can be measured. For example, the sensors 115 incommunication with the mobile personal medical device 110 may beprovided as part of an external vest or other apparatus that may beworn. In some embodiments according to the invention, the device 100 andthe sensors 115 may be integrated into an apparatus, such as a vest,that is worn, so that all components are carried by the body 105 and arenot implanted in vivo.

Although FIG. 1 shows a single mobile personal medical device 100, itwill be understood that multiple devices 100 can be used. For example,mobile personal medical devices 100 may be implanted in a number ofdifferent locations of the body to provide data redundancy to guardagainst data loss due to failure of a stand-alone device or through acatastrophic accident where the device 100 is destroyed. Accordingly, insome embodiments according to the invention, a plurality of mobilepersonal medical devices 10 may be used rather than the single device100 shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates the mobile personal medicaldevice 100 in some embodiments according to the invention. According toFIG. 2, a processor circuit 200 operates to coordinate the function ofeach of the other components shown therein. The processor circuit 200can be any device which can be reprogrammed to coordinate themeasurement of the parameters described herein over a relatively longperiod of time, such as six months. The processor circuit 200 is alsocapable of coordinating communication with remote systems or deviceslocated outside the body. The processor circuit 200 is furtherconfigured to evaluate the measured parameters against standards andsyndromes and/or other medical information stored in the mobile personalmedical device 100 to determine whether a significant situation existsfor the body 105. The processor circuit 200 may be implemented usingspecial-purpose hardware, such as an Application Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC), a gate array, a microcontroller or digital signalprocessor (DSP).

The mobile personal medical device 100 further includes a number ofsensor circuits 205 which may be integrated into the same package as thedevice 100 or separately therefrom and in communication with theprocessor circuit 200. In some embodiments according to the invention,the sensor circuits 205 can include sensors to provide measurementsregarding blood glucose level, temperature, pH, blood pressure, bloodoxygen content, respiration, voice analysis, and impact force. Forexample, the sensor circuits 205 can include an impact sensor to recordwhether the body 105 has suffered a severe trauma in an automobileaccident, the results of which may not be immediately evident on theexterior of the body 105. In other embodiments according to theinvention, other sensors can be included in the sensor circuits 205 forthe measurement of other parameters of the body 105.

The mobile personal medical device 100 includes a location informationcircuit 210, such as a GPS circuit found in some cell phones, whichprovides a geographic location of the mobile personal medical device100. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the locationinformation circuit 210 may determine a location using a GPS receivercircuit based on any available GPS or assisted GPS based locationapproach in conjunction with a GPS satellite system. Such approaches arecommonly referred to as assisted-GPS, which is defined, for example, inspecification numbers 3GPP TS 04.31, 3GPP TS 03.71 and 3GPP TS 04.35.Assisted-GPS approaches are also discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,445,118, and 5,418,538, and 5,663,734, and 5,663,735, and6,433,735, and in published US Patent Application No. US 2003/0011511A1, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference.

The device 100 also includes a wireless interface circuit 220 that isconfigured to communicate with remote systems or electronic deviceslocated outside the body 105 and with other mobile personal medicaldevices 100 (i.e., peers). The processor circuit 200 can use thewireless interface circuit 220 to transmit medical information from thedevice 100 to the remote system (such as a system configured for use ina physician's office), a device operated by an authorized EMT, and/oranother device 100.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the wireless interfacecircuit 220 can provide an ad-hoc networking interface to enablecommunication with other peer devices 100 as those devices come intoproximity with the device 100. For example, the wireless interfacecircuit 220 may be a Bluetooth™ interface that can detect other devicesmobile personal medical devices 100 that have Bluetooth™ interfaces.When the device 100 is near enough to another device 100, the device 100recognizes the proximity of the other device 100 and establishes acommunication link therewith using the wireless interface circuit 220(i.e., the Bluetooth™ interface).

Bluetooth™ is directed to providing a relatively robust high-speedwireless connection with low-power consumption and a low-costarchitecture. Bluetooth™ technology may provide a universal radiointerface in the 2.45 GHz frequency band to enable portable electronicdevices to connect and communicate wirelessly via short-range ad hocnetworks. Bluetooth™ technology is generally targeted towards theelimination of wires, cables, and connectors between such devices andsystems as cordless or mobile phones, modems, headsets, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), computers, printers, projectors, and local areanetworks. The Bluetooth™ interface is further described in an articleauthored by Jaap Haartsen entitled Bluetooth—The universal radiointerface for ad hoc, wireless connectivity,

As used herein, “ad-hoc” networking refers to where devices aregenerally configured at the time of use based on the resourcesavailable. Such networks, typically, provide a service discoveryprotocol to allow, for example, identification of available resources.They may also negotiate various aspects of operations, such as peerrelationships between resources, at the time of use of the resources.

In other embodiments according to the invention, the wireless interfacecircuit 220 can be an IEEE 80211 compliant interface that is configuredto communicate with a network access point that may be included in alocal area network or wide area network.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the wireless interfacecircuit 220 can be a RadioFrequency ID type interface (RFID). It will beunderstood that the RFID interface provided by the wireless interfacecircuit 220 can be either active or passive. In a passive RFIDinterface, the device 100 may be activated by a remote RFID scanner thatcan provide power to the device 100 to activate the wireless interfacecircuit 220 for transmission of medical information to/from the device100. In some embodiments according to the invention, the RFID interfaceprovided by the wireless interface circuit 220 can be an active RFIDcircuit that is continuously powered and transmits the medicalinformation without excitation from an external scanner needed. Othertypes of wireless interfaces may be used to communicate with remotesystems or devices including the physician's system and EMT systemsdescribed herein.

In operation, information stored in the device 100 can be “read” bytransmitting an RF signal from an RFID interface of the remote system toenergize an RF antenna associated with the wireless interface circuit220, if the tag is within transmit range of the remote system. Onceenergized, the wireless interface circuit 220 can transmit an RFIDsignal including the medical information stored in the device 100. Itwill be understood that the energy imparted to the antenna can be usedto power the tag transmitter circuit and ancillary circuits used by thewireless interface circuit 220 to transmit. Accordingly, the device 100may not require a battery or other on-board power source to necessarilytransmit, which is sometimes referred to as passive RFID tags. RFID isdiscussed further on, for example, the Internet atidtechex.com/pdfs/en/O7289Z3822.pdf, which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference.

The mobile terminal 20 includes a location determination circuit 260that is configured to determine the location information for a movableobject based on the ID information received from the moveable object viaan RFID interface circuit 265. In some embodiments according to theinvention, the location determination circuit 260 is a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) location circuit, including a GPS receivercircuit, that uses, for example, any available GPS or assisted GPS basedlocation approach in conjunction with a GPS satellite system 274. Suchapproaches are commonly referred to as assisted-GPS, which is defined,for example, in specification numbers 3GPP TS 04.31, 3GPP TS 03.71 and3GPP TS 04.35. Assisted-GPS approaches are also discussed, for example,in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,445,118, and 5,418,538, and 5,663,734, and5,663,735, and 6,433,735, and in published US Patent Application No. US2003/0011511 A1, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated hereinby reference.

In some embodiments according to the invention, the wireless interfacecircuit 220 can be used to transmit an emergency message to nearbyelectronic devices, such as cell phones, PDAs, etc. Accordingly, theprocessor circuit 200 may utilize the wireless interface circuit 220 totransmit emergency messages to other electronic devices within range ofthe interface circuit 220. For example, the processor circuit 200 maytransmit a message over the wireless interface circuit 220 to a nearbycell phone using a Bluetooth interface, whereby a message may bedisplayed on the cell phone that a nearby person is experiencing amedical emergency. Similar type communications may be provided tolaptops, PDAs, or other electronic devices having displays.

The device 100 also includes an alarm circuit 215 that can be activatedby the processor circuit 200. The alarm circuit 215 is configured toalert the person and/or those nearby that the person with the implanteddevice 100 is experiencing a possible emergency or may otherwise be indistress. In some embodiments according to the invention, the alarmcircuit 215 is an audible and/or a visible alert, such as a tone coupledwith a light.

As further shown in FIG. 2, the device 100 also includes a memory 225that stores data 230, which can be written and read by the processorcircuit 200. The memory 225 may include any memory devices containingthe software and data used to implement the functionality in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. The memory 225 can include,but is not limited to, the following types of devices: cache, ROM, PROM,EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, SRAM, DRAM and magnetic disk. The memory225 may include several categories of software to provide operation ofthe profile manager 110: an operating system; application programsincluding the software to receive measured parameters and incorporatethose measurements into previously received values, input/output devicedrivers, etc. The memory 225 can also include data that is used tocoordinate the operations of the circuits shown therein as well as anoperating system to govern the overall function of the device 100.

The data 230 can further include medical information that is relevant tothe body 105 and can be used by the processor circuit 200 to determinewhether the body 105 is exhibiting a syndrome, such as a syndrome knownto be associated with the body or another type of syndrome which isknown, but has not been previously associated with the body 105. Inparticular, according to FIG. 3, the memory 225 stores the data 230,which can include measured parameters that represent measurementsreceived by the device 100 from the sensor circuits 205 for the bodilyfunctions monitored. For example, the parameters measured can includeblood pressure, blood glucose, PH, temperature, respiration, voiceanalysis, impact force, PH, etc. The measured parameters can be storedas they are received or can be processed to provide a statisticalindication of the history of the measured parameters. For example, themeasured parameters can include an average for each of the parametersmeasured over a specified period of time. In some embodiments accordingto the invention, the measured parameters can include both ainstantaneous as well as a historical value over different lengths oftime.

The data 230 also includes risk factors known to be associated with thebody, which can complicate the occurrence of events or can increase thelikelihood that events can occur. Risk factors can include, for example,excessive smoking, drinking, and other lifestyle factors, etc. The data230 can also include a record of medications that the body 105 iscurrently being administered. The medications can be important when, forexample, an emergency medical provider is intervening to provide care orcan be used to analyze the measured parameters.

The data 230 can also include a record of allergies which have beenidentified associated with the body 105. The allergies can be used inthe analysis of the measured parameters (in conjunction with the otherfactors described here) to set a threshold to be associated with themeasured parameters. The data 230 can also include a medical historyassociated with the body 105 which includes all past medical events, allprevious treatments, medications, syndromes, treating physicians,accreditations thereof, etc.

The data 230 can also include data indicating geographic location of themobile device 100 so that, for example, a remote system can analyze themovements of the body 105 throughout an environment and attempt tocorrelate those movements with an observed syndrome. The data 230 canalso include peer proximity information which indicates which peerdevices the current device 100 has been in close proximity to. Suchinformation may be important in predicting and/or monitoring theoutbreak of communicable diseases and may further be used in contactingpersons who may have been in close contact with others that have beendiagnosed with a particular syndrome.

The data 230 also includes privacy thresholds for any of the medicalinformation described herein. In particular, the privacy threshold canindicate that any information having a lower privacy code is not to betransmitted whereas information having a higher privacy code istransmitted. For example, if a particular piece of medical informationhas a privacy code that exceeds a privacy threshold, the medicalinformation would not be transmitted or accessed in the device. However,if the privacy threshold is raised to exceed the privacy code of themedical information, the medical information may then be transmitted oraccessed.

The data 230 also includes an alert log which records events (and otherancillary information such as time) where an alert (either audible,visible, or a broadcast message) was generated by the device 100. Thedata 230 also includes a sharing log which records all access to themedical information included in the device 100. For example, the sharinglog can record when the device 100 transmits medical information fromthe device 100 and when the device 100 is accessed by a remote system(such as a system operated in a physician's office) or device.

The data 230 also includes parameters associated with syndromes (bothsyndromes known to be associated with the body as well as syndromeswhich are not known to be previously associated with the body). Forexample, the values for the measured parameters can define profileswhich may indicate the existence of particular syndromes, such as SARS.Therefore, when the measured parameters correlate to the parametersknown to be associated with SARS, the medical device 100 may determinethat an alert should be generated based on the likelihood that the body105 is experiencing symptoms similar to SARS.

The data 230 can also include standards for the measured parametersagainst which those measured parameters can be evaluated. For example,the standards can include personal standards that are based on themeasured parameters over an extended period of time, a regional standardwhich is based on medical studies for people located within a particularregion of the country of world, cultural standards which can provideparameter values according to a culture or subculture in which theindividual lives, ethnic standards which can indicate parameters knownto be associated with individuals having a particular ethnic background,national standards, such as those determined by a national medical boardand international standards. It will be also understood that the data230 can include values for seasonal variations that change thesestandards based on particular times of the year or weather. The data 230can also include shared keys that are generated by the device 100 inconjunction with the remote system, such as that that may be operated ina physician's office.

The data 230 can also include a Redundant Array of Independent (orInexpensive) Disks RAID table that indicates the level of raidprotection offered by the devices 100 associated with the body 105. Forexample, the RAID table may indicate that the devices are configured sothat data and parity bits are stored across a plurality of devices 100that are implanted in vivo in the body 105. If a particular device failsor is lost due to a catastrophic accident, the medical informationincluding the measured parameters may be rebuilt based on the datastored in the remaining devices 100 and the parity bits.

RAID indicates a category of storage using two or more devices incombination for fault tolerance. There are number of different RAIDlevels, the most common of which are designated as Levels 0, 3, and 5.Level 0 provides data striping (spreading out blocks of each file acrossmultiple devices) but no redundancy. This may improve performance butdoes not deliver fault tolerance. Level 1 provides disk mirroring, Level3 is the same as Level 0, but also reserves one dedicated device forerror correction data, which can provide some level of fault tolerance.Level 5 provides data striping at the byte level and also stripe errorcorrection information, which can provide good fault tolerance. Othertypes of RAID protection are known and available.

According to FIG. 4, the processor circuit 200 receives the measurementof parameters monitored by the sensor circuits 205 and stores themeasured parameters as data 230 in the memory 225 (block 405). Overtime, the processor circuit 200 incorporates the measurements of theparameters into the measurements already stored in the memory 225 (Block410). For example, the processor circuit 200 may average the measuredparameters with the previously stored parameters as well as maintain anongoing record of the instantaneous measurements received. Although theincorporation of the new measurements into the parameters is describedherein in terms of averaging those parameters with the previously storedparameters, other types of statistical analysis and processing can beused to provide an accurate indication of the parameters at a particulartime.

The measured parameters (having been incorporated into the previouslymeasured parameters) are compared to the stored standards and/orsyndromes (block 415). The comparison of the measured parameters to thestandards/syndromes can be done by correlating the measured parametersto the parameters associated with the syndromes. For example, acorrelation may be performed between the respective parameters for SARSor Avian Flu and the parameter values collected by the device 100. Ifthe measured parameters correlate well with the parameters known to beassociated with any of the stored syndromes, a determination may be madethat the body 105 may have been exposed and is exhibiting symptomsassociated therewith.

Alternatively, the comparison can be performed by comparing the measuredparameters to the standards (i.e., the personal, regional, cultural,ethnic, national and international standards) maintained by the device100 to determine whether the measured parameters exceed any of thesestandards. For example, if any of the measured parameters exceeds any orall of the standards for more than a predetermined time threshold, itmay be determined that the measured parameters are unacceptably highand, therefore, an alert may be warranted.

It will be further understood that some of the parameters may beweighted more heavily than others in determining the correlation betweenthe stored syndromes and the measured parameters. For example, bloodglucose may be a highly relevant parameter for a person known to have adiabetic condition. Accordingly, the parameter can be weighteddifferently in determining the comparison between the measuredparameters and the stored syndromes and/or the standards. Furthermore,the other medical information (such as risk factors, medications,allergies, medical history, etc.) can be used to weight some of theparameters more or less than would otherwise be done. For example, if arisk factor of smoking is known to be associated with the body 105,blood pressure may be particularly important in determining whether aparticular syndrome is correlated to the measured parameters.

Furthermore, the medical history may indicate the value of measuredparameters previously associated with past events. For example, themedical history for the body 105 may indicate that a particularly highblood oxygen level was previously observed during a past emergency.Accordingly, a measured value for the blood oxygen may be particularlyrelevant in determining correlation between a syndrome and the measuredparameters. The same can be true for the medications, allergies, etc.that are known to be associated with the body 105 such that particularparameters may be weighted more or less depending on what those knownmedications/allergies are.

Once the comparison has been performed, the device 100 may indicate anemergency (block 420) and thereby transmit an alert signal (block 425)from the device. As described herein, the alert signal may be an audibleand/or visible alert to notify the body 105 or persons nearby that theperson is maybe experiencing a medical emergency. Alternatively (or incombination with the audible/visible alert), the alert signal may be anelectronic signal transmitted to a nearby electronic device, such as acell phone, PDA or laptop, indicating that someone nearby is in distressand may further indicate the nature of the emergency determined by thecomparison to the standards/syndromes. It will be further understoodthat the alert signal transmitted by the device 100 may be received by anetwork access point which may then be relayed over a wide area or localarea network.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart that illustrates operations of the device 100 inindicating an emergency according to some embodiments of the invention.According to FIG. 5, if any of the measured parameters exceeds apredetermined emergency threshold for any of the parameters for aspecified period of time and/or by a specific amount (block 505), thedevice 100 determines that medical information and/or an alert signalshould be transmitted. If, on the other hand, no emergency has occurredno information is transmitted from the device 100 (block 506).Accordingly, if the medical information is to be transmitted (block505), the processor circuit 200 raises a privacy threshold (block 510)intended to protect the privacy of the medical information stored in thedevice 100 so that at least some medical information can be transmittedalong with the alert signal from the device 100 (block 515).

The medical information transmitted from the device 100 can betransmitted in an order according to the priority of the medicalinformation therewith. For example, the processor circuit 200 maydetermine that the blood glucose level is the highest priority medicalinformation to be transmitted along with the alert signal. Accordingly,the processor circuit 200 may transmit the recorded values for the bloodglucose level from the device 100 along with the alert signal (block515). In some embodiments according to the invention, only the relevantmedical information that does not exceed the privacy threshold istransmitted so that other higher privacy medical information isprotected.

It will be further understood that rather than determining that anemergency exists, the processor circuit 200 may determine that themeasured parameters nonetheless indicate a serious situation which mayworsen over time and, therefore, may elect to transmit informationdespite the fact that the measured parameters have not reached the leveldeemed to be an emergency. Accordingly, the processor circuit 200 maylower the privacy threshold enough to allow the transmission of onlyselected portions of the medical information, rather than a morecomplete set of medical information as described above in reference toan emergency situation.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart that illustrates operations of the device 100 tocorrelate the measured parameters with syndromes according to someembodiments of the invention. According to FIG. 6, the measuredparameters are received by the device 100 (block 605), and areincorporated into the stored values for the parameters (block 610) forcomparison to parameters that are associated with the stored syndromes(block 615). It will be understood that the correlation or matchingbetween the parameters known to be associated with syndromes and themeasured parameters can be provided as described above by, for example,weighting some of the parameters more heavily than others and therebyrelying on closer correlation among a subset of parameters rather thanthe entire set of parameters measure. Furthermore, some of theparameters may be more heavily or less heavily weighted dependent onrisk factors, medications, allergies, and the other information storedin the device 100 as part of the data 230.

It will be understood that the correlation can be performed using wellknown techniques, such as cross-correlation, autocorrelation, and thelike. The correlation can be used to compare individual values of theparameters and/or a series of values for the parameters. For example,the parameters associated with a syndrome can include values for aspecified period of time, such as 24 hours, so that the series ofmeasured parameters received by the device 100 over the 24 hour periodcan be compared to the corresponding values associated with thesyndrome. Such values may show, for example, the normal profile of ablood glucose level for a person fitting the physical parameters (suchas height, weight, age, gender, etc.) with diabetes.

If the measured parameters correlate with at least one of the storedsyndromes (block 615), the device 100 can transmit medical informationassociated with the correlated syndrome if the privacy codes associatedwith each of the individual pieces of medical information are less thanthe privacy threshold (block 620). Furthermore, the device 100 recordsthe transmission of the medical information from the device 100 in thesharing log included in the data 230 (block 625). If, on the other hand,the measured parameters do not correlate with at least one of the storedsyndromes (block 615), the device 100 does not transmit the medicalinformation (block 610).

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the body 105 including a device100 that is configured to be in communication with a remote electronicdevice 700, such as a cell phone, PDA, laptop, etc. In some embodimentsaccording to the invention, the device 100 can transmit a message to theelectronic device 700 over any wireless interface supported by thewireless interface circuit 220. For example, the message transmitted bythe device 100 to the electronic device 700 can be a message intendedfor the display of the electronic device 700 or a message that is to berelayed to a wireless network.

It will be further understood that the transmission from the device 100to the electronic device 700 can include the medical information asdescribed above in reference to FIGS. 4-6, such as when an emergencysituation occurs where the electronic device 700 is to provide a messagethereon warning a viewer that the body 105 is experiencing a seriousmedical event. Furthermore, in some embodiments according to theinvention, the electronic device 700 may be associated with the body 105and utilized to relay the message or periodic information to a remotesystem for storage on a persistent storage device included therein. Forexample, the electronic device 700 may be located proximate to thedevice 100 so that the received parameters can be periodically relayedto the persistent storage system or a system which is otherwise intendedto monitor the parameters collected by the device 100. In someembodiments according to the invention, the electronic device 700 is apublic sensor that can be coupled to an aggregation system as describedherein in reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. In still other embodimentsaccording to the invention, the electronic device 700 is capable oftransmitting to the device 100 including messages from an aggregationsystem to alert the body 105 to exposure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of the device 100 implanted in vivoin the body 105 and configured to be in communication with an electronicdevice 800 that is embedded within a seat in an airliner cabin. It willbe understood that in these embodiments according to the invention, thatthe signal emitted by the device 100 can be relatively low frequencyand/or have relatively low power spectral density to reduce potentialinterference between transmissions from the device 100 and an aircraft'scommunication and navigation systems. In operation, the electronicdevice 800 can receive signals from the device 100 which can then berelayed to an onboard monitoring system 805, whereby a member of thecrew may be alerted to an emergency being experienced by the body 105including a particular seat number from which the alert was received. Insome embodiments according to the invention, the electronic device 800is further in communication with an attendant call signal 810 whichprovides a general visual indication that the body 105 may be in need ofassistance if, for example, an emergency or serious medical situationhas arisen as indicated by the transmission from the device 100.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of the device 100 implanted in vivoin the body 105 and in communication with a recognized emergency medicaldevice 900 operated by an authorized user (such as an EMT) 905 in someembodiments according to the invention. According to FIG. 9, the EMT 905establishes a privacy relationship with the recognized emergency medicaldevice 900 by, for example, logging onto the device 900 using anauthentication code associated with the EMT 905.

The device 100 communicates with the device 900 to establish a privacyrelationship therebetween so that the device 100 can upload medicalinformation to the device 900 while maintaining the privacy of themedical information. Accordingly, the EMT 905 can administer emergencyassistance to the body 105 with the advantage of the medical informationprovided by the device 100 even though the body 105 may be unresponsive.Furthermore, other recognized medical devices 910 may be used inconjunction with the device 900 to provide further medical informationregarding the status of the body 105.

In operation as shown according to FIG. 10, if the device 100 determinesthat an emergency situation exists or that a measured parameter hasexceeded a specified threshold for a certain period of time (block1005), an implied authorization may be assumed between the device 100and the device 900 due to the fact that an emergency or a serioussituation has been detected (block 1010). If, on the other hand noemergency exists (block 1005), no authorization is granted (block 1006).The emergency or serious medical situation determined by the device 100can, therefore, provide the implied authorization for the device 900 toaccess the medical information stored in the device 100. Accordingly,the device 100 transmits the medical information to the recognizedmedical device 900 for further analysis (block 1015). Furthermore, thedevice 100 records the access to the medical information by therecognized medical device 900 by updating the sharing log (block 1020).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart that illustrates operations of the mobilepersonal medical device 100 transmitting medical information to a remotesystem in a non-emergency situation in some embodiments according to theinvention. According to FIG. 11, an emergency medical providerestablishes a privacy relationship with the remote system, which is arecognized medical device as illustrated by device 900 in FIG. 9 (block1100). The privacy relationship with the remote system can beestablished when the emergency medical provider logs onto the device 900using, for example, an emergency medical provider authorization code.The remote system sends a request to the device 100 to transmit themedical information to the remote system (block 1105). It will beunderstood that the request from the remote system can include theemergency medical provider authorization code which the emergencymedical provider inputs into the remote system.

The device 100 receives the request from the remote system including thecode which authorizes the remote system to receive the medicalinformation (block 1110). It will be understood that even though theauthorization code provided by the emergency medical provider mayauthorize access to some of the medical information stored in the device100, the code may not authorize the device 100 to transmit all of themedical information to the remote system. In particular, some of themedical information may have a privacy code associated therewith whichis still greater than the privacy threshold stored within the device100. In still other embodiments according to the invention, theauthorization code provided by the emergency medical provider mayauthorize the device 100 to raise the threshold so that additionalmedical information is authorized to be received by the remote system.

The device 100 transmits the medical information requested by the remotesystem which has a privacy code that is less than the privacy threshold(block 1115). The device 100 then records the transmission of medicalinformation to the remote system along with the emergency medicalprovider authorization code that accompanied the request (block 1120).The medical information can then be uploaded from the remote system to apersistent storage device for long term storage of the medicalinformation accessed during the event (block 1125).

Although the description above in reference to FIG. 11 illustratesauthorization provided for the remote system to access the medicalinformation using an authentication code provided by an emergencymedical provider, it will be understood that in other embodimentsaccording to the invention, the emergency medical provider or recognizedmedical device may provide a copy of the shared key that is stored inthe memory of the device 100. Upon receipt of the shared key, the device100 can authorize the remote system to access the medical informationstored therein as described above.

As shown in FIG. 9 above, authorization for access to the medicalinformation in the device 100 is implied due to the nature of theemergency wherein, for example, the body 105 may be unresponsive. Incontrast, operations described above in reference to FIG. 11 illustratethat authorization can be provided by a key or code provided by theemergency medical provider to authorize access to the medicalinformation stored in the device 100.

FIG. 12 is a schematic representation of a remote system, which may beoperated by a medical provider such as a physician, configured to accessmedical information stored in the device 100 implanted in the body 105in some embodiments according to the invention. In particular, theremote system 1200 is configured to access the medical informationstored in the device 100 via wireless communication via the wirelessinterface circuit 220 in the device 100. The remote system 1200 mayprovide essentially the same communications as the systems describedabove in reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, which are capable of requestingthat the device transmit the medical information.

The system shown in FIG. 12 further includes a key generation circuit1220 that operates under the control of the remote system 1200 togenerate a shared key that is stored within the remote system 1200 andcan be downloaded to the device 100 for storage therein. The system inFIG. 12 also includes a persistent storage device 1215 which can storemedical information uploaded from the device 100 and the shared keygenerated by the key generation circuit 1220. The system in FIG. 12 alsoincludes access to an accreditation system 1210 which lists theaccreditation for medical providers that may provide medical services tothe body 105 over an extended period of time. The system in FIG. 12 alsoincludes access to a recognized emergency medical device 1205, such asthat described in reference to FIG. 9. Access to the recognizedemergency medical device can be used to upload medical informationretrieved in the field to the persistent storage device 1215 so that themedical information may be later accessed and analyzed. It will beunderstood that the term “key” as used herein can refer to a generatedkey pair, where one key of the pair remains private and the other key inthe pair is made publicly available. Furthermore, the keys can begenerated and used in accordance with the approaches discussed in USPatent Publication No. 20060206361, entitled System For MaintainingPatient Medical Records For Participating Patients, by Logan, theentirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

In operation, the system shown in FIG. 12 can be utilized according tothe flowcharts shown in FIGS. 13-15. According to FIG. 13, a patient(i.e., the body 105) can sign a consent form which authorizes theoperator of the system in FIG. 12 to access medical information storedin the device 100 (block 1300). A serial number on the form can be usedto generate a shared key using the key generation circuit 1220 forstorage in the device 100 (block 1305). The shared key can be used toauthorize subsequent access to the medical information in the device100. The shared key is also stored on, for example, the persistentstorage device 1215 or, alternatively, on local storage associated withthe remote system 1200 (block 1310).

According to FIG. 14, the device 100 compares the shared key sent fromthe remote system to the shared key stored within the device 100 (block1400). If the shared keys match (block 1405), the download of newmedical information is accepted (block 1410) and the new downloadedmedical information is stored in the device 100 (block 1415). The device100 also updates the sharing log to record access to the stored medicalinformation (block 1420). If the shared keys do not match, the access isdenied (block 1406).

It will be understood that the new medical information downloaded fromthe remote system can represent updated versions of the informationpreviously stored as part of the medical information in the device 100.For example, the downloaded medical information may include new valuesfor standards or entirely new standards altogether. The downloadedmedical information may also include updated risk factors, allergies,new medications prescribed to the patient, as well as additional medicalhistory that was collected during the time interval between the currentdownload and the previous download, such as when the patient previouslyvisited the physician's office.

The additional medical history may include previous field events wherethe body 105 received an emergency medical treatment in the fieldwhereupon medical treatments not stored in the device 100 were uploadedto the persistent storage device 1215 and now subsequently downloadedinto the device 100 through the remote system 1200. The downloadedinformation may also include new types of syndromes or revisedparameters that are associated with those known or new syndromes. Thenew medical information can also include new processes to be used forthe correlation of the measured parameters to the syndromes.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart that illustrates operations of the device 100 inconjunction with the remote system 1200 to upload stored medicalinformation in some embodiments according to the invention. According toFIG. 15, the shared key provided by the remote system to the device 100is compared to the shared key stored therein (block 1500). If the sharedkeys match (block 1505), medical information stored in the device 100 isuploaded to the remote system including all the measured parametersrecorded since the device 100 was last accessed (block 1510). If,however, the keys to not match (block 1505), access to the device 100 isrefused (block 1506).

The medical information uploaded to the remote system can include allthe recorded measured parameters as well as the geographic locationinformation, peer proximity, alert logs, and sharing logs. Furthermore,additional medical information can be uploaded in, where, for example,the patient has been treated by another physician during the timeinterval between accesses by the remote system. For example, the patientmay have visited an allergy specialist prior to the visit to the currentphysician wherein the allergist downloaded into the device 100 includinginformation regarding the diagnosis of allergies for the patient. Thedevice 100 then updates the sharing log to reflect the current access tothe medical information stored in the device 100 (block 1515). In someembodiments according to the invention, the uploaded information can besent from the remote system to the persistent storage device 1215 (block1520).

FIG. 16 is a schematic illustration of an aggregation system 1620including devices 100A-C configured to operate therein in someembodiments according to the invention. According to FIG. 16, devices100A-C are implanted in bodies 105A-C respectively. The devices 100A-Care configured to communicate with sensors 1600, which are configured asa lowest level in the hierarchy of the aggregation system 1620. Theaggregation system 1620 operates by receiving medical information fromthe devices 105A-C through the sensors 1600 to monitor the medicalinformation of a population and may be used to determine if a local,regional or wider-scale outbreak is underway. It will be understood thatthe medical information can be collected anonymously so that eachperson's privacy can be safeguarded.

In operation, as illustrated in FIG. 17, the medical information iscollected from the devices 100A-C as the bodies 105A-C move within theenvironment. The aggregation system 1620 collects the medicalinformation until a statistically significant number of samples has beenacquired (block 1700).

As the medical information is continued to be collected, the aggregationsystem compares the collected medical information from the differentdevices 100A-C to determine whether there are any similarities among theinformation provided the devices (block 1705). Moreover, the aggregationsystem 1620 operates to determine whether there is a correlation betweenthe medical information and known syndromes, such as SARS, or otherdiseases (block 1710). The correlation between the medical informationand known syndromes can be performed, for example, as described above inreference to FIG. 6.

If a syndrome is determine to likely exist within the environment of thesampled devices 100A-C, the low level aggregation system 1620 canforward the collected medical information, and information regarding thecorrelation, to a higher level of the aggregation system 1620, such assystem 1610 which has access to other nodes within the aggregationsystem 1620 that communicate with sensors that are located in differentareas of the environment (block 1715). The higher levels of theaggregation system 1620 can then compare similar information anddetermine correlations between different regions (blocks 1705 and 1710)to determine whether a wider-scale outbreak is underway (block 1720).

In some embodiments according to the invention, the aggregation system1620 can be scaled vertically and horizontally to cover a relativelylarge region, such as several different areas within a region or anumber of metropolitan areas on a national or international level. Itwill be understood that although a nationwide aggregation system can beprovided by monitoring medical information in a number of metropolitanareas, it is not necessary that all intervening areas (e.g., rural areaslocated between metropolitan areas) are necessarily covered by theaggregation system 1620. It will be understood that the comparisons andcorrelations performed at the higher levels of the aggregation system1620 can in-turn be forwarded to still higher levels in the hierarchy ofthe system 1620 (block 1725).

In any event, the aggregation system 1620 at any level can take actiononce a syndrome has been detected including, for example, transmittingmessages to the devices 100A-C whereupon the device 100A-C can transmitan alert signal so that the body 105 can be alerted to the possibilityof exposure. For example, if the body 105A was exposed to and contractedSARS, the device 100A can begin measuring parameters that indicatecorrelation with SARS which is, in turn, communicated to the aggregationsystem 1620 through the sensor 1600.

Moreover, as the body 105A moves about the environment, it comes intoproximity with bodies 105B and 105C. Accordingly, each of the devices100A-C logs the proximity information indicating that each of therespective devices 100A-C was in close proximity to the others at aparticular time. Later, once the aggregation system 1620 has detectedthe early outbreak of SARS by correlating the parameters provided by thedevice 100A to the parameters known to be associated with the SARSsyndrome, the aggregation system can broadcast messages to the bodies105B and C to indicate potential exposure to SARS even though each ofthose bodies may not yet exhibit symptoms of SARS.

The aggregation system 1620 may notify the other bodies 105B and C eventhough those bodies are no longer located in the same environment inwhich they came into close proximity with 105A initially. It will befurther understood that the aggregation system 1620 may have access tothe persistent storage system 1215 described above in reference to FIG.12 so that the aggregation system can access the keys that enable thesystem 1620 to access the medical information in each of the devices100A-C to further investigate the medical information associated witheach of the bodies 105A-C.

In still other embodiments according to the invention, the aggregationsystem 1620 can broadcast a message to each or any of the bodies 105A-Cto download information from the aggregation system 1620, such as anotation that the respective body was exposed to SARS at a particulartime. The aggregation system 1620 may also transmit new standards and/orthresholds to the devices 100A-C that are deemed more relevant after therespective body 105A-C has been expose to a particular event. Thedevices 100A-C can then continue operation according to the newinformation downloaded from the system 1620. It will be understood thatother information may be downloaded into the devices 100A-C from thesystem 1620.

In still further embodiments according to the invention, the aggregationsystem 1620 is part of a mobile wireless network, such as a cellularradio telephone network that provides service to mobile radio telephoneusers. In such a system, the sensor 1600 may be integrated into localradio heads or other low level pieces of infrastructure that support thewireless network. Accordingly, the messages within the aggregationsystem 1620 communicating the medical information may be formatted asstandard messages used to transmit registration information within thenetwork.

Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinaryskill in the art, given the benefit of present disclosure, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it mustbe understood that the illustrated embodiments have been set forth onlyfor the purposes of example, and that it should not be taken as limitingthe invention as defined by the following claims. The following claimsare, therefore, to be read to include not only the combination ofelements which are literally set forth but all equivalent elements forperforming substantially the same function in substantially the same wayto obtain substantially the same result. The claims are thus to beunderstood to include what is specifically illustrated and describedabove, what is conceptually equivalent, and also what incorporates theessential idea of the invention.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of aggregating medical information, themethod comprising: receiving, by a remote aggregation system including aprocessor, individual syndromes collected by mobile personal medicaldevices associated with bodies, respectively, wherein the individualsyndromes comprise medical information measured within the respectivebodies by the mobile personal medical devices, respectively;aggregating, by the remote aggregation system, the individual syndromesby comparing the individual syndromes to determine whether a similarityexists between the individual syndromes; receiving, by the remoteaggregation system, movement information from the mobile personalmedical devices; receiving, by the remote aggregation system, proximityinformation from the mobile personal medical devices, wherein theproximity information identifies groups of the mobile personal medicaldevices that have been in proximity to each other; and determiningwhether an environmental syndrome exists for a plurality of theindividual syndromes based on the movement information, the proximityinformation and a determination that the similarity exists between theindividual syndromes.
 2. A method according to claim 1 wherein themethod further comprises transmitting an alert to the plurality ofmobile personal medical devices.
 3. A method according to claim 1wherein the method further comprises: transmitting an alert to a targetmobile personal medical device that did not collect one of theindividual syndromes.
 4. A method according to claim 1 wherein theenvironmental syndrome comprises one of a plurality of hierarchicallyrelated environments, the method further comprising: forwarding selectedones of the individual syndromes to a higher level aggregation systemresponsive to determining that the selected ones of the individualsyndromes match predetermined criteria.
 5. A method according to claim 4further comprising: transmitting a broadcast message to other mobilepersonal medical devices to enable transmission of the medicalinformation to the remote aggregation system.
 6. A method according toclaim 5 wherein the other mobile personal medical devices are identifiedbased on the proximity information relative to the plurality of mobilepersonal medical devices.
 7. A method according to claim 1 wherein thereceiving of the individual syndromes comprises receiving the individualsyndromes with identifiers, respectively, that each identify one of themobile personal medical devices from which the one of the individualsyndromes was received, respectively, the method further comprising:accessing a persistent long-term storage device to retrieve historicalmedical information associated with one of the bodies using one of theidentifiers that identifies the one of the mobile personal medicaldevices associated with the one of the bodies.
 8. A method according toclaim 7 further comprising: transmitting a broadcast message includingrespective keys obtained from the persistent long-term storage device toother mobile personal medical devices to enable transmission of themedical information from the other mobile personal medical devices tothe remote aggregation system.
 9. A method according to claim 1 whereinthe determining of whether an environmental syndrome exists comprises:determining a number of the individual syndromes that match apredetermined environmental threshold, wherein the mobile personalmedical devices comprise cellular telephones, and wherein the medicalinformation measured within the respective bodies is measured by sensorsimplanted in the respective bodies that wireless transmit the medicalinformation to the mobile personal medical devices.
 10. A methodaccording to claim 8 further comprising: transmitting an update messageto the other mobile personal medical devices to record a syndrome event.11. A method according to claim 1 further comprising: receivingenvironmental information at the remote aggregation system from a sourceother than by the mobile personal medical devices, wherein the medicalinformation measured within the respective bodies is transmitted amongstthe plurality of mobile personal medical devices.
 12. A method accordingto claim 1 wherein the individual syndromes collected by the mobilepersonal medical devices are collected by sensors configured tocommunicate with the mobile personal medical devices as the devicesbecome proximate to the sensors.
 13. A system for aggregating medicalinformation, the system comprising: a memory comprising computerreadable program code; and a processor circuit coupled to the memory andconfigured to execute the computer readable program code to performoperations comprising: receiving individual syndromes collected bymobile personal medical devices associated with bodies, respectively, toaggregate the individual syndromes; receiving movement information fromthe mobile personal medical devices; receiving proximity informationfrom the mobile personal medical devices, wherein the proximityinformation identifies groups of the mobile personal medical devicesthat have been in proximity to each other; comparing the individualsyndromes to determine whether a similarity exists between theindividual syndromes; determining whether an environmental syndromeexists for a plurality of the individual syndromes based on the movementinformation, the proximity information and a determination that thesimilarity exists between the individual syndromes, wherein theindividual syndromes comprise medical information measured within therespective bodies by the mobile personal medical device devices,respectively.
 14. A system according to claim 13 wherein theenvironmental syndrome comprises one of a plurality of hierarchicallyrelated environments, wherein the processor circuit is furtherconfigured to forward selected ones of the individual syndromes to ahigher level aggregation system responsive to determining that theselected ones of the individual syndromes match at least onepredetermined criteria.
 15. A system according to claim 14 wherein theprocessor circuit is further configured to transmit a broadcast messageto other mobile personal medical devices to enable transmission of themedical information to the processor circuit.
 16. A system according toclaim 15 wherein the other mobile personal medical devices areidentified based on the proximity information relative to one of themobile personal medical devices from which the individual syndromes havebeen collected.
 17. A system according to claim 15 wherein the processorcircuit is further configured to receive the individual syndromes withidentifiers, respectively, that each identify one of the mobile personalmedical devices from which the one of the individual syndromes wasreceived, respectively, wherein the processor circuit is furtherconfigured to access a persistent long-term storage device to retrievehistorical medical information associate with one of the bodies usingone of the identifiers that identifies the one of the mobile personalmedical devices associated with the one of the bodies.
 18. A computerprogram product for aggregating medical information comprising: acomputer readable medium having computer readable program code embodiedtherein, the computer readable program product comprising: computerreadable program code configured to receive individual syndromescollected by mobile personal medical devices associated with bodies,respectively, wherein the individual syndromes comprise medicalinformation measured within the respective bodies by the mobile personalmedical devices, respectively; computer readable program code configuredto receive movement information from the mobile personal medicaldevices; computer readable program code configured to receive proximityinformation from the mobile personal medical devices, wherein theproximity information identifies groups of the mobile personal medicaldevices that have been in proximity to each other; computer readableprogram code configured to aggregate the individual syndromes bycomparing the individual syndromes to determine whether a similarityexists between the individual syndromes; and computer readable programcode configured to determine whether an environmental syndrome existsfor a plurality of the individual syndromes based on the movementinformation, the proximity information and a determination that thesimilarity exists between the individual syndromes.
 19. A methodaccording to claim 1 wherein the mobile personal medical devices areimplanted within the respective bodies and configured to measureparameters within the respective bodies to provide the medicalinformation.
 20. A method according to claim 1 wherein the mobilepersonal medical devices comprises cell phones.